Olympia Symphony Orchestra: Mentor and Disciples
$25-$55
William Walton — Viola Concerto
Jean Sibelius — Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104
Caitlin Lynch, viola
Vaughan Williams – Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Walton – Viola Concerto
Sibelius – Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104
The second half of our season moves from heavily programmatic and pictorial works to abstract or “absolute” pieces, such as numbered symphonies and concertos. The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was famous for writing pieces for string orchestra: his melodic and soul-soothing Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus is a mesmerizing piece for strings and harp alone.
Many English composers in the first part of the 20th-century idolized the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and his distinctive compositional style. Vaughan Williams was a big fan and so too was William Walton, whose warm and intense Viola Concerto illustrates the influence of Sibelius’ orchestral coloration. Although not as famous as his Second or Fifth, Sibelius’ Sixth Symphony is a gorgeous work, full of Nordic introspection – and the opening string paragraph sounds as if it could be by Vaughan Williams!